Kuba Tukula Box - Kuba Tribe - Demoratic Republic of the Congo

Description

The Kuba used boxes such as this for storing
tukula
, a reddish powder made from the bark of a tree.
The boxes are known as Kuba Boxes and called
ngedi mu ntey
by the Kuba. The boxes are usually in the shape of a square with a faceted lid, a semicircle (sometimes referred to as "half moon"), a rectangle or the shape of a mask.
These boxes were also s
ometimes used for holding razors for cutting raffia, hairpins or ritual objects.
Tukula
is a red powder
that is finely ground from parts of the Camwood tree.
The color red is essential to the Kuba concept of beauty.
To the Kuba it is an immensely valuable substance, the Western equivalent of gold. Tukula is both auspicious and prophylactic. Its earthy or purplish red color is used abundantly in decoration, rubbed onto items such as cups, containers, figures, weapons, oracles etc. to honor and beautify them. Tukula is also used to bless people like
newborn
babies, pregnant women, new mothers, warriors, the diseased, etc. It is usually applied after having been mixed in a special wooden or clay dish with oil extracted from palm-kernels. Tukula will be preserved in special decorated wooden boxes like this one.
T
his piece measures 8” x 5 3/4” x 2 1/4”. There appears to be tukula residue in
the box
,
Shipping to the continental US only. Watch for additional items coming soon.